BIG BROWN BAT

Age Range: 4 - 8

Pub Date: Aug. 1st, 2008ISBN: 978-0-8050-7499-4Publisher: Henry Holt

With previous titles including beginning looks at bluebirds, beetles, turtles and frogs, Chrustowski now turns to the only flying mammal, the bat. Keeping to his winning formula, he begins at birth and follows a big brown bat through to its first winter hibernation. Along the way, readers will absorb facts about bats that are woven seamlessly into the story: They drink their mothers’ milk, they use sound to locate their prey and they can eat half their body weight in insects every night. Accurate vocabulary defined within the illustrations makes this especially accessible for the youngest readers. Backmatter includes some basic bat facts as well as more specifics about the big brown bat species. Colored pencils over watercolor wash create both crisp details and rich textures in the illustrations, which assiduously refrain from anthropomorphizing their subject while at the same time accurately presenting them as essentially nonthreatening. The night sky trades places with a cozy attic as the bats soar and snooze. A solid addition to elementary and preschool libraries. (Informational picture book. 4-8)